World's fastest running robot unleashed by DARPA and Boston Dynamic

It runs on all terrains, moves freely under its own power, and is descended directly from a cheetah-like robot that last year outpaced the world's fastest man Usain Bolt on a treadmil; Meet the "WildCat" robot -- and prepare to be amazed.

Introducing WildCatbostondynamics

Billed "the world's fastest running robot," WildCat was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the United States (DARPA) to be used potentially for military purposes.

The above video was released today on YouTube by the company commissioned to develop it, Boston Dynamics.

In recent years, Boston Dynamics and DARPA have made headlines together with such high-tech quadrapeds as the Big Dog (LS3) and the aforementioned Cheetah Robot, which can hit speeds of up to 28.3 mph.

WildCat is described by Boston Dynamics as "the next generation Cheetah Robot," but whereas the Cheetah bot is tethered to a treadmill, WildCat runs free. It's also significantly more maneuverable than its predecessor, and can transition between different gaits just like a real cheetah.

"So far WildCat has run at about 16 mph on flat terrain using bounding and galloping gaits," reads the video's description. "The video shows WildCat's best performance so far."

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While technologically excellent, some find the idea of a super-fast, free roaming, four-legged military robot a bit unnerving.

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